Avatar: Birth of a New Warrior
by kitex
Summary: Each form of bending is based on a real martial art. Well, what would happen if someone from our world who knew the kung fu styles that matched various bending were to crossover to the world of Avatar. Constructive criticism please. First fic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Slowly taking in a breath, Marcus raised his arms and gently began to move them in a circular motion. He could hear the concrete underneath him scrap against his shoes as he took careful steps in a circle.

In an instant, his movements changed. Marcus took his foot and slammed it to the earth. The once gentle movements are now hard linear strikes. He took another hard step, skipped to his other foot, and launched a powerful side kick into the air.

'Focus,' he thought, 'maintain focus."

In mid-form, he took a slight running start and executed a flying sidekick. Once he landed, Marcus executed a flurry of various kicks and strikes. He knew that they looked beautiful, but can be very deadly if they actually were used.

Deciding to cool down, he reverted to Tai Chi. Shifting his weight through various stances, he made sure all of his movements were fluid and smooth.

'Be like water. Be like water. Be like…I wonder what's for din-.' His thoughts were interrupted with a strike to the head.

"OW!!!" he yelped. "Who the hell—"Marcus stopped in mid-sentence as he was face to face with an elderly man. "Oh…Hi grandpa!" His greeting was responded with another strike to the head.

"I told you to maintain focus Marcus," his grandfather said gently.

"But I was, grandpa! That hit was totally uncalled for."

"A single grain of rice can tip a scale Marcus." There was a brief moment of silence. Against his better judgment, Marcus decided to respond.

"And that means…what?" he asked.

"A single moment of losing focus can be quite fatal."

"But all I did was think about dinner for a sec."

"See, you did lose focus." All Marcus could do was growl at his grandfather's craftiness. "Marcus. You know I mean well when I teach you. Ever since you lost your parents, I just wanted to grow up strong."

Marcus looked at his grandfather's eyes and gave him a sincere look. "I know grandpa, but why so many different styles? The whole thing is giving me a headache."

"It is all about balance."

"Balance?"

"Yes. Each style has its own advantages, disadvantages, and uniqueness. So rely on power while others rely more on technique. Sometimes the attacks take place in the air while others are more rooted in the ground."

"So you're saying I'm becoming a better-rounded fighter?" Marcus asked.

"In a way, but that is not the point. You learn this to never use this." If there was one thing Marcus hated the most, it was when his grandfather tried to teach him through cryptic riddles. Although he would usually understand the meaning pretty instantly, his previous exercise left him too exhausted to think.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he whined.

"You can think about it while you practice your form twenty more times."

"Are you kidding me!?!" Marcus yelled. However, his remark fell upon deaf ears as his grandfather simply walked away from him. Despite all the calls he made out to his grandfather, he refused to turn back to respond to him.

All Marcus could do was kick the ground in defeat. He wasn't really angry at his grandfather, but this was one of those moments where it made him extremely infuriated. At some attempt to calm down, Marcus began to take deep breaths and clear his thoughts.

As he began to do this, a faint glimmer of light caught his eye. What the source of the light could be began to pop up into his mind. He and his grandfather lived very isolated in the mountains. The nearest town was a few miles away and Marcus definitely knew that there was nothing there that could be bright enough to shine like the light he saw.

Whipping his head in all directions to try and catch a glimpse of it, Marcus saw the light shine from the forest. Letting his curiosity take the best of him, he decided to check it out.

'What the hell was I thinking?" he thought to himself. It had been three hours since he had left his house and now he was covered in sweat, dirty, tired, and absolutely lost. Marcus couldn't help but feel strange about his predicament.

It may have been the exhaustion, but he could have sworn the forest was shifting upon itself. The path did not seem to stay in the same direction and the streams occasionally appeared to flow the opposite direction.

The only thing on his mind was to somehow find his way back. Each step he took was heavier than the last and he was losing light fast. The world all of a sudden began to spin all around him and suddenly the darkness consumed him.

The last thing he could recall before falling unconscious was falling to ground.

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Pain.

That was all he could feel the moment he woke up. Marcus' joints were on fire and his muscles felt as though they were stretch to their breaking point. He got up as slowly as he could and noticed that the sun was now shining brightly.

"Oh crap," he said out loud. "I must've passed out. Man grandpa is totally gonna give me extra training for this." As he finally got to his feet, something interesting happened in his body. It was as though he could feel everything around him. Every breath of air, every grain of dirt, every drop of water. He could actually feel it. It was as though the life of the whole earth was coursing through him.

A scream from the distance broke his train of thought. He quickly ran to the source and saw a child in the river hanging on to a branch for dear life. He also saw a young woman trying desperately to reach him.

Just as the child's hand seemed within reach, the branch broke off and the child was swept away by the rapids.

"Lee!" she scream. Without a second thought, Marcus jumped into the river and swam after the child. Despite complaints from his already sore body, he swam harder and harder.

"Grab my hand!" he screamed. Despite the danger of drowning, the child looked too scared to trust him. "Look, kid!" he said as he occasionally spit out a mouthful of water, "Grab my hand, or you drown!!!" His answer came in the form of a small hand grabbing his own.

With kid in tow, Marcus tried to grab on to something to pull himself out. However, the speed of the water combined with his own exhaustion made it very difficult for him to hold on to anything. The smooth grass also did not help his grip.

His vision began to blur, so if he had any chance of saving himself and this kid, there had to be something soon.

As he flailed his arms for something to grab on to, his hand caught onto a root that was sticking out of the ground. Unfortunately, the root was very rugged and the momentum of the river made his hand scrape against the root. Despite the pain, he grabbed on tight and with all the strength he had left, he lifted himself and the kid to surface.

Too exhausted to even think, Marcus just lay down and lost consciousness.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If there was anything that could wake Marcus quickly, it was food. The smell of a beef stew tickled his nose and woke him wide awake.

He took a quick glance around him and found a few things off. Instead of ordinary doors, there were paper screen doors. Also, he could not spot a single electronic around. Not even a simple clock was around.

'And where are my clothes?!?' Luckily, he was not butt-naked, but going around in his boxers was not a good plan for him. He quickly got out of the bed he was in and looked around for his clothes. It only took him a few minutes to find his clothes in a dresser in the room.

"Ah! I see you are awake." He turned around and was face to face with the young woman who was at the river. Her appearance was also something off. She wore clothes that were more similar what people of ancient China would wear.

"Oh, hi. Uh, how's that kid?"

"Lee? He's fine. I am really grateful for what you did. My name is Ming by the way."

"Marcus."

"Marcus? That's a strange name. You're not from around here are you?"

He shot her a confused look. "What do you mean? I live in the mountains with my grandfather." His answer also gave Ming a confused look.

"I think you are more exhausted than I thought. There are no mountains around for hundreds of miles," she said.

"Hundreds of miles? Where am I?"

"In the town of Wu Yi," she replied. Marcus couldn't scratch his head around this predicament. "Okay," he said, "and what country am I in?"

"Well…The fire nation of course."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Marcus just stared at her for what seemed like forever.

"Fire nation?" he asked. Ming simply nodded in response. "But wait. I'm from America. I passed out in America. How in the world did I end up here?"

"America? Where is that? Is that a new area in the nation?" Ming asked. Marcus could not believe what he was hearing. Obviously he was not anywhere near home anymore.

"Okay…uh…Just humor me for a second. How many countries are in this world?" Marcus asked. Depending on how she would respond would affect how freaked out he should be.

"There are four in total. Well, technically there are three," she replied in a gentle voice. Something just turned off inside Marcus' head when he heard her said that. Without a second thought, he ran to the closest door and went through it.

Instead of breathing in fresh air, he had dust and charcoal fill his lungs. "Uh…that's where we keep our supplies. The door outside is that way," he heard Ming say behind him.

"Thanks," he said curtly as he passed by her. Once outside, Marcus was simply speechless. Instead of the houses he usually sees, he found various stone houses with hay-patched roofs and sliding doors. The people of the town were simply walking around minding their own business. He also saw a few men who appeared to be black smiths and flags with a picture of a flame on it hanging on the buildings.

"Uh Marcus?"

"AHHHHHH!" he yelped. Ming looked very shocked at his reaction.

"Are you all right? You look as though you saw a platypus bear?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just…Platypus bear? What the hell is that?" he said.

"You're really not from around here are you?" Marcus simply responded by scratching the back of his head. "Well, why don't you have some beef stew and I can tell you what you need to know."

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Marcus was a lot hungrier than he thought he was. In a matter of minutes, he completed three bowls of stew. However, Ming did not seem to mind his voracious appetite. Instead, she looked at him with great fascination. Almost as if she was admiring him.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Huh? Oh no. You just…remind me of someone I knew," she replied.

"Oh. Okay. So what did you mean earlier when there were technically three countries?" Marcus asked.

Swallowing her last spoonful of soup, Ming looked straight into his eyes. "Well, the four nations of this world are the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and Air Nomads. However," she paused a bit and looked a bit sullen over what she was about to say. "However the Air Nomads don't exist anymore, so now there are only three nations."

"What happened to them? They couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth." Ming struggled to respond. Whatever the truth was did not seem easy to say.

"My nation…killed them all around a hundred years back." Marcus stopped eating and just stared at her. Such a thing was lost to him. What kind of people would so willingly commit such genocide. "We are known to the rest of the world as such violent people. But considering what our lord and armies have done, I don't really blame them."

All of a sudden Marcus felt a chill crawl up his back. If a whole entire country was so gung-ho about killing people, what chance did he have of lasting long enough to get back? Marcus could not help but feel so helpless in this new place.

"But." He looked up and saw a concerned face look back at him. "Please believe me when I say not all of us are like that. At the very least, I'm not." Although he was still cautious of her after what she told him, he also believed what she said.

Another thing he happened to notice was how gorgeous she looked. Her brown hair looked a bit unkempt and rough, it still made her look very appealing. There was something he could not put his finger on, but she had an aura about that attracted him to her.

'I wonder if she's seeing someone?" he thought. Instantly he shook that thought out of his head. It was best if he didn't date anyone from this world. Of course, it wasn't like he didn't have a chance with a girl. While he was in no sense ripped, he had a fair amount of muscle and was relatively tall. Not to mention, as far as he knew, he wasn't the ugliest guy ever. The best way he could describe himself was a bit above average.

"-cus."

'Still, I wonder if she would possible find me attractive?" he thought.

"Marcus!" Ming yelled.

"Huh?! What?"

"You sort of spaced out for a second. Are you all right?"

Marcus looked at the ground in slight embarrassment. There was no way he had the guts to say he was thinking about his chances with her.

"Oh, sorry about that. Uh…If you don't mind me asking, why did your nation kill the Air Nomads?"

"Well, you see." Before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. "Oh, excuse me for a second. You just keep eating," Ming said as she got up and walked toward the door.

Marcus looked down at his bowl of stew and lost himself in thought. 'I wonder if I can get back. And back alive for that matter,' he thought.

"But I don't understand. I already paid you enough yesterday." Hearing the fear in Ming's voice, Marcus got up to see what the problem was. Not wanting to jump into the situation just yet, slowly peeked around the corner and saw Ming face to face with two men dressed in what looked like battle armor.

"That may be true. But you were late in your last payment. Such an interest really racks up Ming," said one of the men.

"But I don't have enough for another payment just yet. I need more time," she pleaded to them. However, the two men looked at her with no sign of sympathy. Marcus recognized this kind of look. Things were about to head south very quickly.

"Well Ming," one of the men said has he approached her slowly. "There is more than one way to make a payment. You should remember from the last time you were late," he whispered to he has he gently stroked her hair.

"Get your hands off her." The two men and Ming turned to face Marcus. His fist was clenched so tightly his knuckles were snow white. There was only so much of he could let slide.

"Oh, so you have another man in your life. Tsk tsk tsk. I really hate you keeping secrets from me Ming." He slowly made his way to Marcus and grabbed him by the collar. "So who are you mystery man?" the man asked very slyly.

"Please, Jang, he's nobody. He's just someone who saved my little brother from the river," she pleaded.

"Quiet!" the other man yelled as he slapped her across the face.

"Thank you Chu. A wench should really speak when-AHHHH!" The man could not finish his sentence. The hand that was once grabbing on to Marcus' shirt was now being twisted in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" The man named Chu ran toward him, but he was knocked down with a well placed roundhouse kick. Marcus looked back at the man wincing in pain.

"You frickin' brat!" Jang screamed as he swung a hard hook for his head. Marcus effortlessly blocked it and retaliated with a palm strike to the man's gut.

As he doubled over, Jang felt himself being picked up and shoved out the door. The next thing he felt was the hard dirt hitting his back. Chu ran toward him and tried to help him up, but he pushed his hands away and shuffled to his feet.

The commotion started to attract a crowd. Unfortunately for Marcus, it also attracted Jang's backup.

When Marcus stepped out of Ming's house, he found himself face to face with five men all dressed in the same armor.

"It's about time you learned your place worm," Jang said. Marcus took a stance prepared for the worst. What came at him was the last thing he every expected. Jang shot his fist forward and a long flame stream was headed right toward him.

Marcus was able to dodge most of the fire, but the hairs on his arms were completely burned off. He couldn't believe what he just saw. A man just shot fire from his hands. Before he could have another second to think, Marcus found himself having to dodge another barrage of fire streams.

This time, part of his shirt had caught on fire. He desperately tried to pat it out but the fire spread too quickly. The men surrounding him laughed at his pain, enjoying how ridiculous he looked.

In the middle of his struggle, Marcus was able to spot a water jug in the behind the crowd. He ran past the crowd, which was very easy due to the fire, and splashed his arms and body into the jug. Marcus sighed in relief as he felt the water kill the fire and sooth his burns.

"Despite how much I enjoyed that spectacle." Marcus looked over his shoulder and spotted Jang starting to approach him. "I still think you need to learn a more severe lesson. Something you will not forget so easily."

Jang took in a deep breath and exhaled strongly as palm shot forward toward Marcus. As if everything was moving in slow motion, Marcus saw a spiral of fire heading right toward him.

"MARCUS!!!!" He could hear Ming yell to him, but he knew there was nothing he could do. In a useless attempt to protect himself, he covered his face with his arms and closed his eyes.

He waited for the fire to engulf him, but it never happened. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was steam in front of him and a shocked look from everyone. He looked at his hands and found that ice was encased from his finger tips to his elbow. Each finger moved was still able to move freely and he did not even feel the slightest bit of cold from it. In an instant, the ice just shattered and simply melted back into water.

"A water bender!"

"How can this be possible?"

"Ming let such a person into the village!?"

Marcus was surrounded by random banter coming from the crowd. His mind could not make heads or tails of what was going on. 'What's a water bender?' he thought.

"As if I couldn't hate you more you cretin, you just had to be a water bender," Jang said with great venom in his words. When he let off another blaze, Marcus covered up again. As he did he noticed that the water around him lifted itself from the ground and created a barrier between him and the flames.

'How am I doing this?' he thought. This apparently was his only best shot at fighting back and he had no clue what he was doing. In frustration, he stomped the ground hard. The moment his foot hit the ground, the earth began to shake and his aggressors lost their balance.

In that moment, his body began to feel the same sensations it did when he first woke up in this world. He could actually feel the earth and the water around him.

"He's an earth bender too?" yelled one of Jang's men.

"That's impossible. It had to be a fluke." Knowing this was his only means of a distant attack, Marcus stomped again. The ground shook furiously and knocked everyone to the ground. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to get close and personal, he ran toward the closest enemy.

As he ran, he could feel the wind literally push him faster. A trail of dust followed right behind him. Although each of his attackers tried to fight back, he blocked their arms before they could shoot any fire and hit them hard and fast.

After he was finished, he saw all five of his attackers begin to fall back.

"Sir, I think we may be dealing with the Avatar," one man said to Jang.

"That's impossible. The real avatar is supposed to me younger than this guy. Plus this guy has hair!" Jang out bursted.

"But how can you explain the different bending he can do?"

"Or the fact he can run like the wind?"

Marcus could not really understand what they were talking about, but he decided to stand his ground just in case they decided to strike again.

"Fall back." Jang's men looked at him questioningly.

"Sir?"

"I said fall back. We need to inform our superiors back at base. Get the messenger hawks ready the moment we get back." Jang gave one last death stare to Marcus before turning away and walking. His men followed close after him.

Seeing no real threat anymore, Marcus relaxed his muscles. However, he still felt tense. For some reason, all the people in the village had not taken their eyes off of him. It was a feeling he may have to get used to.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twenty minutes had passed since the incident. After the fight, Ming simply walked up to him and said she would tend to his wounds. They sat in her house in silence as she wrapped bandages around the burned areas.

The damage to his body was not severe, but his shirt was far too burned to wear again. His clothes, however, was the last thing really on his mind. He couldn't understand what he had just faced or what he had done for that matter.

"Ming."

"Hm?"

"What happened out there? How could they shoot fire out of their hands? And how could I do all that stuff with the water and earth?" he asked. If he was to stand a chance in this world, he had to know what all of this was.

"What you and those men out there did was called bending. Only certain people have the ability to do so. Benders can control the four elements of the earth depending on which of the nations they were born in. Since this is the Fire Nation, our benders-"

"Can bend fire. Okay. I think I understand that much. But why were they so freaked when I could bend water and the earth?" he asked. He noticed that she wasn't looking at him directly and seemed as though she was about to avoid the question. "Ming. I need to know."

"The problem is that the benders can only bend one element and only one. A fire bender cannot bend earth even if he was taught the techniques. Only one person on this planet has the ability to master all four elements. And that person is the Avatar."

"So what does an Avatar do exactly?" he asked with great curiosity.

"His job was to bring balance to the world. The Avatar has a great amount of power within him that comes from generations of past lives. When one dies, the power is given to the next vessel. The power is passed around based on a cycle; Air, Water, Earth, Fire. The last Avatar was a fire bender by the name of Roku."

"A fire bender. So the next one was…Wait!" Something had just clicked in Marcus' head after hearing Ming's explanation. "Is that why the nomads were killed?"

"Yes, The Avatar is the only person on this planet who has enough power to stop the Fire Lord."

"But I don't get it. You told me that the Air Nomads were killed a hundred years ago. How can he be alive now? And based on what Jang said, this Avatar looks a lot younger than me." The circumstances were just too baffling for him to understand.

"Well that I don't know. But the problem we have now is that those men think you may be connected to the Avatar. After all, you also have the ability to bend more than one element."

He knew where she was going with this. "So you're saying they are going to come after me again," he said. Ming could only nod. "Well, then I better get moving. Sorry for causing so much trouble for you."

Marcus put on what was left of his shirt and made his way toward the door. Just before he was able to step out, he felt something tug his arm.

"What are you trying to do Marcus?" she asked.

"I was-"

"It's still pretty bright outside. The base they were talking about is a long way off from this village, so you don't have to worry about them coming back any time soon. If you want to make you're move, at least wait until its dark, "Ming said.

He knew she was right. Despite how guilty he felt of possibly bringing trouble to her in the future, nothing would really matter if he got himself killed.

"Besides, you kind of stick out with the clothes you have on right now." He looked down and saw her point. Jeans and sneakers were not exactly of casual fashion in this world.

"Here," she said as she handed Marcus some clothes, "Put these on. I think they will fit you."

"Thanks, but whose clothes are these?" he asked.

"My fiancé. He…He died in the war not too long ago." The last few words were only just louder than a whisper, but he could hear it clearly.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The clothes were looser in certain areas, but otherwise they fit perfectly.

'This stuff will definitely help me blend in more to this place," he thought. The only article of clothing he kept on him at the moment was his sneakers. Although there was a chance it could give him away, they were more comfortable than the boots Ming had also given him along with the clothes. If he had to run at any point, Marcus thought it would be better to run in something comfortable.

As he stepped out of the room he was changing, he noticed Ming holding a pack in one hand and a small sack in the other. She slowly approached him and handed him the pack.

"The pack has some rations for your trip as well as a map and a compass. And here." She grabbed one of Marcus' hands and gently placed the sack in his palm. "Some gold pieces to get you by."

'Did she just say gold?!?!' he thought. 'Oh man I could be rich if I bring this back to my world. Wait! Marcus, focus!'

"Ming, I can't take this. You'll need-"

"Yes you can take this!!! Yes, you can!" Marcus' eyes opened wide at her reaction.

"If you want any chance to live in this place, you'll need some money," she said sternly.

"But what will happen if they come back?" he asked. He remembered she did not have enough money for the payment earlier and here she was giving him gold.

"Don't worry about it. Please. Besides, I'm sure they're going to be more occupied with getting you." Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at her remark.

"Thanks for everything, Ming," Marcus said with some sadness.

"You're welcome. Oh wait. Take this with you too." She reached deep into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a large version of a checker piece. When he took it, he noticed it had a picture of a flower on it.

"Um… not to be rude, but what can I do with a checker piece?" he asked.

"That is a Pai Sho piece. And what is important about it is the picture on it. That is a Lotus tile. It was given to me by a good friend of mine. You show that to the right person and you can receive some help."

"Thanks. Anyone I should be looking for in particular?"

Ming tapped her chin gently as she focused hard at his question. "I think there is a man by the name of Piandao who can help. Problem is don't know where he is or what he does. "

"I'll keep that name in mind. Thank you once again." He slowly approached her and gently embraced her. She was surprised by the gesture, but only a little bit. Cautiously, she returned the gesture. After they separated, Marcus grabbed his things and made his way out of the village. Ming looked on as she saw Marcus disappear into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

If there was anything Marcus was terrible at, it was reading a map. He was so used to the GPS that reading a map never occurred to him. Frantically flipping the map over and over, he tried to make heads or tails of where he was going.

A few days had passed since he had left Ming's village and the worst possible thing had happened to him.

He was lost.

At first, Marcus followed the dirt path thinking it could lead him to another village. However, after a day, he almost ran into another group of troops from the fire nation army. Knowing they might be looking for him, he decided to run into the forest and figure out his way from there.

"Why did I ever think that was a good idea," he said to himself. Down in his spirits, Marcus lowered his pack and slumped down next to the nearest tree. He opened his pack and checked what food he had left.

Inside was a pack of some kind of jerky and a loaf of bread. 'I gotta reach a village soon. I can't last more than two days with this.' After putting his pack back on, he put his head into his hands and closed his eyes to think of what to do next. When he opened his eyes, instead of seeing darkness, he saw the ground.

Marcus quickly pulled his hands out front and saw that they were beginning to disappear. He looked down and noticed that his whole body was beginning to do the same.

"What's going on!" he shouted. First he landed in a new world, then he was almost burned to death, and now he was about to disappear to nothing. One moment, he was standing by a tree panicking. The next, he was nowhere to be seen.

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The next thing Marcus felt was a sensation going through his whole body. It only took him a second to realize he was falling. He looked toward the ground and noticed he was very high off the ground. Frantically flapping his arms as though in a cartoon, Marcus could not think of what else to do.

Impact was imminent and all he could do was cover his eyes with his arms. What he did not realize was that when he swung his arms to cover his eyes, a gust of air erupted beneath him and slowed his fall.

Most of it.

He hit the ground with a hard thud and groaned as the pain began to seep into his body. "I am really getting sick of this!" he shouted. As he slowly got up, he could hear his joints crack and feel his muscles rip. The pain was terrible, but he would live.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE FIRE NATION SCUM!!" He turned around and found himself face to face with a group of guards. Unlike the other ones he faced, their attire was green and they were barefoot. "I don't know how you got inside the walls of Omashu, but I will make sure you don't get out of here with any information for the Fire Nation's army."

"Wait! Just wait!" he said as he put his hands up in defense. "I'm not a member from the fire nation. I don't even belong in this world."

"Only a scum from the Fire Nation would dare wear such rags in any other nation." Marcus quickly looked down and remembered that the clothes he borrowed were from the Fire Nation.

"I can explain this. The thing is-"

"ENOUGH!" one guard shouted. The man took a hard step forward and a stone column appeared in front of him. Using his palm, he launched the stone toward Marcus. He dodged it with ease, but decided to make a break for it.

Unfortunately for him, the ground begun to feel like water and he found himself sinking knee-deep into the ground. Marcus pulled on his legs frantically, but he could not free himself. He slammed the ground with his fists and somehow was able to crack the foundation enough to get free. Once out, he continued to run.

"Did you see that?" one guard said.

"Who cares, just don't lose him." Marcus' lungs began to burn as he ran through the streets of his new surroundings. Every single time he ran around a corner, he kept facing a different guard. There was nothing he could really do. He did not want to fight them because the last thing he needed was another country hating him. However, running was not necessarily helping him either, but getting hurt more was not something he looked forward to.

He looked over his shoulder and saw a troop of soldiers closing in fast. The next corner he took would be his last in the chase. Marcus was so focused that he did not realize the turn he took was a dead end. As he turned around, he saw the troops brace for a fight.

Seeing no real way out and knowing that he had no real chance in a fight in his condition, he slowly raised his hands in the air and kneeled down. He felt tight grips around his arms and then everything went black.

"-cus."

He felt nothing, as though he was floating in air. He couldn't feel his body. There was nothing to see and nothing to hear all around him.

"Marcus." Suddenly an elderly man in attire very similar to the Fire Nation appeared before him. He wore a gold ornament in his hair and wore elaborate robes.

"Who are you?" Marcus asked the man.

"You do not belong in this world Marcus," the man said calmly.

"What?"

"Awaken you swine!" a guard said as he hit Marcus in the head. He could feel his ears ringing from the pain, his vision doubled and his arms were bound in some sort of stone. A quick look at his surroundings and Marcus noticed he was not outside anymore. Instead, he was inside a place with stone walls and a type of green lighting.

"My king, we found this spy inside our city wall. We are not sure as of how he got into the city without notice, but believe me when I say we are working on it," said the guard next to Marcus.

Marcus looked toward the direction the man was talking to and spotted a very old man wearing a green robes, and ornate hat, and had a pointy white beard. However, the man's eyes appeared that of a madman's. The hunchback seemed to sell the image of one. So far, his chances were not looking so good.

"We also have his bag. Although there are no weapons in here as far as we can see,"

"Then let me go you jerk!" Marcus interrupted. His response was returned with a punch to the face. "GOD STOP WITH THE FACE!!" The next strike then landed on his stomach. Marcus could do nothing but groan on the ground.

"However, I believe that you, my king, should have a look at the bag. Your wise sight may see something we may miss."

"Now, now. No one likes a brown-noser Li. But I do see your point. My eyes are beyond the average person. AHAHAHAHA!" the king said in a voice that was far from deep or noble-sounding. Marcus could not help but make a face toward this.

The guard casually handed Marcus' bag to the king and the king rummaged through the contents.

"Now let's see what's in here. Uh…loaf of bread. Oh! My favorite type of jerky!" The king took a strip and ate it hungrily. Marcus would've complained, but he would rather avoid another punch to the face.

"What else do you have here. Hmm?" The king felt his fingers grasp a small sack with a circular piece inside it. "What's this here?" The king reached into the sack and pulled out the Pai Sho piece that Ming had given to him.

The king's eyes had widened twice its size. He examined the piece closely and gently strokes every groove of the piece.

"Leave us!" he ordered his men.

"I'm sorry? But sir he is from the Fire Nation!" the guard pleaded.

"I said, 'leave!' That was an order!" the king said. The guards gave a slight bow and left the room. When the doors closed, Marcus saw the king flick his wrists. In an instant, the stone he was bound to broke off. He shot a confused look to the king.

"Young man, approach," the king said softly. Cautiously, he got to his feet and walked toward the king. Marcus could feel as though the man's eyes were piercing right through him.

"Now, I need to ask you. Where did you receive this piece?" he said as he held up the Pai Sho piece.

Marcus licked his lips and took a deep breath. "I received it from a woman named Ming. From the Fire Nation. She told me that if I showed that to the right people, I may receive some help." The truth really couldn't hurt at this point could it?

"Tell me your story and I shall see if I can trust you or not. If I believe even for a second you may become a threat, I will have you locked up for the rest of your days," the king said to him in a serious tone.

For the next half an hour, Marcus told his story. Of how he went into the forest and wound up in this world. Of how he met Ming and ran into trouble with members of the Fire Nation Army. And especially he told him of his ability to bend more than one element. As he told his story, the king simply looked at him.

"And that is really about it." He saw the king just look at him with a curious stare.

"Okay I believe you," the king replied in a very cheery tone.

"What?!?!" Marcus shouted. "Just like that?"

"I have lived for many many years. Over time, my good eye," he said as he pointed the one that looked as though it was about to pop out of his eye, "has developed a way to notice a lie or not. And as far as I can see, you are telling the truth."

"Really?"

"No, but it sure does make me sound so great doesn't it!?! Ahahahah!" Marcus could not handle anymore of this guy.

"Look, I know this may be bad for me to ask of you, but I would like to have someone teach me earth bending," said Marcus.

The king stopped laughing and simply stared at him. "Why would you need to learn that?"

"Because I can bend the earth but have no clue how exactly. Like I said in my story."

"Oh right, right, right." Marcus growled at the king's response. Talking to this man was really frustrating. "Well, let me be your teacher! Master Bumi at your service!"

Marcus simply stared at Bumi as though he was crazy; matter of speaking.

"No offense, your highness-"

"You can call me Master Bumi," quipped Bumi.

"Master…Bumi. Uh, I think you may be a bit too old to teach me." The king shot him an angry glare. He got up from his seat, and as he did, Marcus could hear the man's bones start to crack.

'Man how old is this dude?" he thought. What he did not notice was that Bumi's hunch back had begun to disappear and instead he stood a full head taller. In one swift movement, he grabbed his robes and threw them aside, which revealed a physique that resembled more that of an Olympic athlete.

"YOU"RE SO JACKED!!" Marcus shouted.

"Well, I don't know what you mean by 'jacked', but I am a lot fitter than you think. So, are you willing to learn from me now?" Bumi's nose practically grew a full inch from his pride in his ability. Marcus couldn't help but just stare at what he saw.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For the second time today, Marcus found himself falling through the air. Although this time, Marcus was aware of what caused his current air trip.

Bumi began Marcus' training with what he called the 'basics.' However this ended up being Bumi using Earth Bending on him and Marcus had to somehow negate the attack. Being a complete novice, Marcus ended up taking all the attacks full brunt. Although Bumi manipulate the ground to soften Marcus' landings, he still hurt himself enough on impact.

Rubbing his sore neck, Marcus picked himself up and looked at Bumi furiously.

"You know! Training me does not mean to use me as a personal training dummy!!" he screamed. "How is getting my butt beaten repeatedly supposed to help me at all?"

"Well first of all, you can try dodging the attacks!" Bumi yelled back.

"I would if you would do one freaking attack at a time," Marcus retorted. "You do one, then launch another one exactly where I dodge."

"That's true," Bumi mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Shut up you whippersnapper! In battle, it won't be that easy will it? Now I will attack again. This time, think crazy!!!" Bumi simply turned around and took a few steps away from Marcus. He took a stance and unleashed a powerful wave of earth toward Marcus.

Everything started to move slower in the world. Marcus was in deep focus and found himself thinking faster than anyone could comprehend.

'Okay, I gotta attack back with some Earth Bending,' he thought, 'but I don't know anything. Think crazy. Think crazy.' In his mind, he replayed the movements Bumi had done to perform his attack. Looking at each step of the movement, Marcus had an epiphany.

"It's Hung Gar!" he shouted out loud.

"Huh?" said Bumi.

Putting both fists on his waist, Marcus slightly jumped and landed hard in a horse riding stance. The moment he landed, a ripple passed through the ground and negated most of the ground wave. Marcus took another step forward, swung his fist upward and punched hard at the remaining wave. The once fluid wave solidified and shot its way back to Bumi.

Not losing a moment of his cool, Bumi simply raises his arms and pushed the wave into the ground. The wave simply disappeared into the ground. Shaking off the excess dirt off his shoulders, Bumi slowly approached Marcus.

"I see you've learned something," Bumi said gently. Marcus simply gave him a very insightful sort of look.

"Yeah. The movements for Earth Bending are practically the same for this one martial art back in my world."

"Interesting. So where does that leave you now at this point."

"Well, I know all the movements in that style," Marcus began, "but I'm not sure exactly what each movement can do.'

"That probably means I still have to teach you the basics," Bumi replied.

"You're right."

"However, you still have a base to work with so I do believe this may be a lot easier for you to learn. LET"S GET CRACKING! AHAHAHA" boomed Bumi

'Somehow I still don't feel all that better," thought Marcus.


End file.
